Techmeme
August 16, 2016, 6:35 AM

Top News

Jessica E. Lessin / The Information:
Source: Snapchat to buy recommendation app Vurb for around $110M plus retention payouts totaling nearly as much  —  Snapchat is tiptoeing into search.  —  The company is acquiring recommendation app Vurb for around $110 million plus additional team retention payouts totaling nearly as much …
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Google's bare-bones FaceTime competitor Duo launches for iOS and Android, won't connect with other communication apps from Google like Hangouts, upcoming Allo  —  Can Google spring back from its social failures with a bare-bones video-calling app that unites iOS and Android users?
Jessica Conditt / Engadget:
Minecraft gets Oculus Rift support today as part of an update to Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta  —  Minecraft has landed on the Oculus Rift as part of a free update to the Windows 10 Edition beta.  Anyone who owns the PC or Mac version of Minecraft is automatically granted access …
Garett Sloane / Ad Age:
Twitter debuts Promoted #Stickers for brands, starting with Pepsi; clicking on a Promoted Sticker takes you to tweets containing the same sticker  —  Platform Pursuing Its Turn Toward the Visual  —  Twitter has introduced its first “#Promoted Stickers” campaign, with Pepsi as its inaugural customer.
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
Google is discontinuing Google+ Hangouts On Air on September 12, pushes users to YouTube Live  —  Google today quietly announced that Google+ Hangouts On Air will no longer be available on September 12.  Four weeks from now, Google users will be asked to use YouTube Live instead.
Matt Brian / Engadget:
Oculus Rift to ship in Europe and Canada September 20, and is now available for pre-order there  —  Now that Oculus has caught up with the pre-order backlog for its VR headset, the Facebook-owned company has decided it's time to make the Rift available in more places.
Eric Slivka / MacRumors:
KGI: Apple planning three new iPads in 2017 including a 10.5" iPad Pro, and an iPad with flexible AMOLED in 2018 at the earliest  —  Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has released a new research report outlining his expectations for the future of Apple's iPad lineup, predicting three new iPads ranging …

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The Intercept:
Mike Isaac / New York Times:
Jena McGregor / Washington Post: